This invention relates to watering systems for use in a poultry house, and, in particular, to an improved two-stage drinker for use in the watering system.
A typical watering system for a poultry house includes a water regulator which is connected to a supply of water to reduce the line pressure of the supply water. Watering lines extend from the regulator and drinkers depend from the bottom of the watering lines. Currently existing drinkers include a housing having a ball valve which is operated by a pin. When the chicken pecks at the pin, the pin moves the ball valve off its seat, to allow water to pass through the drinker, allowing the chicken to have water.
A persistent problem with drinkers has been leakage caused by the inability for the ball to fully engage the valve seat in the drinker housing. The leakage plaguing currently available drinkers comes from the fact that the design of the currently available drinkers requires the components of the drinker to fit within tight tolerance limits. It would be desirable to produce a drinker which does not require such tight tolerances and which will substantially reduce the leakage problem.